A man who was gathering together fireworks and other component parts to make an improvised incendiary device has been handed a five-year custodial sentence.

The investigation, which was led by detectives from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, found the 41-year-old man from south London had intended to combine the various component parts he’d collected in order to target a mosque in south-west London.

Steven Bishop, 41 (28.11.77) of south London had previously pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to possession of an explosive substance with intent, contrary to section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883, as well as collection or making a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2000.

He was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment with an additional year to be served on licence in relation to the explosives offence, and he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment to be served concurrently in relation to the TACT offence.

Bishop will also be subject to terrorist offender notification requirements for 15 years following the conclusion of his five-year custodial sentence.

In sentencing Bishop for the Explosives Substance Act offence, the judge ruled that Bishop had committed the offence with a terrorist link, under section 30 of the Counter Terrorism Act, 2008.

Bishop was arrested by Counter Terrorism detectives on 29 October 2018, at his address in south London. Officers attended the address after police were contacted by one of Bishop’s key workers when he showed her images of items he was collecting for the purpose, he said, to build ‘a bomb’, and told her that he was intending to target a mosque.